Dinner
by JemmyTheUnawesome
Summary: When Eugene is finally invited to dine with Rapunzel and her parents, it turns out to be far more than he expected!


_Hello, hello! I'm JemmyTheUnawesome and this is my first fanfiction (to be put on display, at least)! I seldom put out my works like so, because of my 'inferiority complex'. My friend says that's what it is, at least. I think I'm just afraid of criticism. XD But don't go easy on me because of that! I aim to be an author someday, so there is certainly always room for improvement, however large or small!_

_Disclaimer: If I owned Tangled or Disney, I wouldn't be living in a two-bed, one-bath condo right now. ;P_

_Please, do enjoy!_

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><p>A hard knock on his temporary bedroom's door jolted Eugene awake from a pleasant dream. He jumped up from the comfortable bed, scratching his head and making his way lazily to the door. <em>Dinnertime already?<em>

While he opened the door, he mumbled, "Can't a guy get some sleep around here?" when he looked up to see who had interrupted his dozing, he startled and tripped over his words. "S-Sir! H-Hello, sire, I-I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for me, to, uh…open…the door…"

The king, standing squarely in Eugene's doorway, met Eugene's frantic eyes with a hard, stone-like gaze. "Flynn Rider, I presume?" he said, staring the former-thief down.

"Uh, yes, well, actually, it's Eugene…Eugene Fitzherbert…" Eugene scratched the back of his head nervously. "Wh…what can I do for ya?"

The king gave a _hmph_ and walked past Eugene into the room. Eugene closed the door quickly and searched for a chair the king could sit in. They were both settled in the middle of the room in two rather uncomfortable wooden chairs a few minutes later.

The king stared at Eugene. For a long time. Eugene tried pretending he didn't notice—he hummed random tunes, he tapped his finger on his knee and then his foot on the floor. He tried avoiding direct eye contact, too.

The king may seem like a gentle, fatherly man, but up this close and with him staring at you like he were trying to ignite your brain through telekinesis, he's a very imposing person. And frightening, too, especially if you're a potential husband for his daughter.

The king finally broke the silence. "So, _Eugene_, my daughter tells me you're quite the charmer." Eugene didn't know what to say. He only nodded. The king raised a bushy eyebrow and stroked his graying beard.

"And as I've heard from my kingdom's police, you were quite a famous thief as well." The king said, narrowing his eyes. Eugene jumped a bit. "Stealing everything from apples to palace guard horses to crowns."

"Well, sir, you see, I—"

"And criminals such as yourself are supposed to be hanged, are they not?" The king scowled.

Eugene stared slightly slack-jawed at the king, his face gone pale. "B…um, sir…uh…" he searched his brain for the right words, rubbing the side of his neck. "Those days are behind me, sir, I've cha—"

"But you still committed the crimes."

Eugene gulped. "Your majesty, let me tell you something," he said hastily. "Since I met Rapunzel, I've changed. I-It's a long story, but let me get Rapunzel so she can explain."

The king stared at Eugene for another eternity before cracking a most unexpected smile. "You're all right, boy. No need to be so uptight," he chortled, slapping Eugene heartily on the back (almost making the former thief fall forward off his chair). "The queen convinced me to pardon your crimes." He said, nodding. Standing up, the king straightened his robes. Eugene was staring straight ahead, in some sort of shock. "Come on, boy, you look as if you've seen a ghost,"

Eugene had never been so afraid for his life than those previous moments, not even when he was bleeding out on the floor in Rapunzel's tower just a few days ago. "Gb—uh, sorry, your majesty." He stammered, shaking his head and standing up.

"Besides," the king said as he made his way to the door. "From what I've seen, if I had you hanged, Rapunzel would never forgive me!" he gave a hearty laugh and strolled out the heavy wooden doors and down the corridor.

"Um, goodbye, s-sir." Eugene called after him, still in a bit of shock.

"Oh, and Eugene, you'll be joining us for dinner tonight!" the king replied with a gleeful wave of his hand.

Eugene shut his door and leaned against it, sliding down to the cool floor.

"Oy vey." He sighed. No sooner had he gotten up and started dragging his feet toward his bed to sleep again than another, gentler knock on his door came. He growled and flopped face-first into the ludicrous amount of velvet sheets and blankets that adorned his bed. "What is it noooow?" he sounded like a twelve-year old.

The girl outside his door giggled and opened the door. "Hi, Eugene." Rapunzel shut the door quietly behind her. "I saw my father coming from your room. He looked like he was preparing to hug a bear." Sitting at the foot of the bed where Eugene's feet dangled over the oversized mattress, she raised an eyebrow.

"All I can say is that your father has a ridiculous sense of humor." Eugene rolled over, still spread-eagle, and puffed, blowing a lock of hair out of his face. "So, Blondie—"

"Rapunzel," she corrected him.

Eugene grinned. "…Gazundheit."

Rapunzel giggled again.

"So, _Rapunzel_, I'm joining you all for dinner tonight." Eugene said, still smiling.

"Oh, that's great! I'm sure you've grown tired of being excluded from meals." Rapunzel cheered. Eugene, in all honesty, wasn't too thrilled to be sharing a table with the royal family. It wasn't that he didn't want to; he was just slightly afraid of what they might say.

After all, their recently returned eighteen-year-old daughter had fallen in love with the kingdom's most famous thief and self-proclaimed ladies' man.

Eugene could sense it—the king and queen must be thinking about hanging him anyway just so he doesn't have the chance to steal their daughter's _heart._

"Eh," he waved a hand dismissively. "It wasn't bad. I was only being deprived of food and water for two days," he joked.

"Whatever." Rapunzel rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Oh, I'll call some butlers to bring you some clothes for dinner! I have to go to get dressed, too. I'll come and get you when I'm ready," Rapunzel said quickly. Before Eugene could get a word in, she rushed out the door.

Eugene scratched his head. He had figured eventually he'd get to met Mr. and Mrs. Royalty, but it was all happening so fast.

This was his schedule for the past two days—in the morning he'd wake up, rove around the castle for a little while, then he and Rapunzel would go out into the town to take part in the celebrations of her return. Eugene would join the Snuggly Duckling men for some drinking, and then return to Rapunzel where she would be dancing with the villagers. They would party and party until the sun began to set, when they would then head back to the castle. Rapunzel would reluctantly leave Eugene to go have supper with her parents—Eugene's dinner was brought to him in his temporary room.

Eugene just sat there pondering what was next for him and Rapunzel. Marriage? Surely her parents wouldn't allow a former criminal become prince consort of Corona?

Another knock on his door brought five butlers, each carrying a silk (or something of the sort) garment. "This is what you will be wearing tonight, Master Flynn." One told him.

Eugene stifled a chuckle as he realized that only Rapunzel, the king, and probably the queen knew his real name. He gazed at the outfit they had brought. It was almost all white—a loose, long-sleeved silk undershirt to go under a black vest and a pair of brown pants. There was also a pair of boots that looked almost like a replica of the ones he wore all the time. The outfit was similar to the one he normally wore. "I like it," Eugene observed. There was a short, awkward silence.

"So are you gonna go and let me get dressed, or what?" he said. The butlers exchanged unreadable glances.

"If you wish." They set the clothes on his bed and shuffled out. Eugene figured they must have been there to help him dress. He shuddered at the thought. Dressing up in all this stuffy clothing was one thing, but having other people _dress you in it_ was a completely different matter.

Eugene clothed himself, and just as he was buttoning up the undershirt, Rapunzel walked through his door.

Her white dress was long—the skirt draped around her feet, just a hair above the floor. The bodice was embarrassingly tight around her chest. There were small diamonds on it, along with a pretty design of golden embroidery.

Rapunzel blushed as Eugene stared at her for a moment, hazel eyes tracing her body. "Stop staring, it's embarrassing," she whined, shuffling her bare feet. Eugene laughed.

"Sorry." He said. "You're just so beautiful, is all." He walked over to her and kissed her brow. Taking a step back, he put out his arms to show her what he was wearing. "Pretty snazzy, ain't it?"

"I've got the strange feeling that I've seen that before…" Rapunzel said with mock concentration as she stared at his outfit with narrowed eyes. Eugene laughed.

"Anyway, I was hoping you'd loosen the bodice a bit for me," she said, turning around, showing where it was strung together in the back. Now that Eugene looked at it, it did look uncomfortable. "I can't reach it."

"Alright." He undid the enormous bow that decorated the waist of the dress and his where the strings for the bodice were tied. He undid the knot and loosened the bodice, Rapunzel letting out a huge sigh as if she'd been holding her breath.

"Ah, thank you." She sighed again. Eugene slid his hands to her shoulders and wrapped his arms around her, embracing her from behind.

"Nervous?" she chuckled, laying her head to the side on his arm. Eugene rested his chin on her shoulder.

"Who, me?" Rapunzel felt him smile against her ear. "Nah. I'm sure they'll love me. Everybody does, eventually."

She turned around, grasping his hands."Well, I suppose I'm a fine example of that."

He chuckled, leaning down and pressing his lips against hers. They indulged in the sweetest kiss since his revival in the tower.

The heavy doors creaked open. "Master Flynn, the king and queen request your presence at the—" Rapunzel and Eugene looked up to see one of the palace's lower-ranked guards standing in the half-opened door with his eyes wide. Eugene scowled slightly.

"Er, sorry, Princess," the guard ducked hurriedly out of the room.

The couple laughed. Eugene rested his forehead on Rapunzel's own, wearing a toothy grin.

"Come on, you need to put your vest on," Rapunzel laughed quietly, stepping back a tiny bit and buttoning up the rest of Eugene's undershirt.

Eugene chuckled, retrieved the black vest, and shrugged it on. "Go on outside, I'll be right there." He said. Rapunzel nodded and shuffled out the room. As the long dress flowed in her wake, Eugene noticed with a laugh that the young woman's feet were bare. Un-shoed, if I may.

_Why are we being dressed in such lavish clothes, anyway? It's just a small dinner._

Eugene paused, blinking. "…Right?" he asked himself. He shrugged, though not being able to shake the rather irrational fear that it was going to be more than just a nice dinner between the king, queen, Rapunzel and him.

Eugene strode over to a full body mirror and looked at himself, brushing brown locks of hair behind his ears, failing in his attempt to tame the longest tresses that hung level to his eyes. He flashed himself a classic Flynn Rider grin before dashing out the door to join Rapunzel.

Sidling up to her in the corridor, Eugene whispered, "Nice shoes," Rapunzel looked down at her feet, grinning.

"I had one of my maids put a pair by the dining hall in case of emergency." She replied.

"Ah, I see." Eugene took her small hand in his as they made their way to the dining hall. They heard a steady hum of hundreds of voices coming from the enormous polished-wood doors. "What kind of emergency did you have in mind, exactly?" Eugene murmured, his heart sinking as the drone of voices grew louder as they approached the hall. Rapunzel gulped and tiptoed up to the doors and peeked through the small crack between them.

She saw hundreds and hundreds of people—some drinking, some sharing war stories, some running around trying to find their husbands, and others courting young women. The dining hall glowed with soft golden light, and Rapunzel could smell appetizers and wine on the cool draft of air squeezing through the doors.

"_This_ kind of emergency." She said. Retrieving a jeweled pair of slippers from behind a decorative plant by the door. The pair of guards manning the doors nodded in greeting as she waved anxiously at them while she slipped on the flat shoes. "There are _hundreds_ of people in there, Eugene!" she whisper-yelled, panicking.

He sighed, shoulders drooping. "Oh, boy..."

Rapunzel finished putting on her shoes and sucked in a breath of air, letting it out slowly and closing her eyes. Then they flew open, and her hands darted to her head, feeling the top of it. "My crown! I'll need my crown!" she panicked again, balling her hands into fists around her chocolate hair. "But there's no time to get—" Eugene tried to comfort her, but to no avail. One of the guards at the doors cleared his throat.

"Ah, Princess?" he said nervously. He revealed a pillow with the tiara sitting lightly on top of it, retrieving it from a lantern aperture in the marble wall. "The queen took the liberty of having it polished and brought here for you, Your Highness."

Rapunzel sighed with relief, rushing over and taking the crown off the pillow and casting an appreciative glance at the guard. "Thank you," she bounced back to Eugene, who took the crown and placed it gently on top of her head.

"Now c'mon," he said, reaching forward to open the gigantic doors. The taller of the guards cleared his throat purposefully and loudly, making Eugene stop.

"We've got it, sir." He said, striking the door nearest him with the pommel of his sword. Eugene and Rapunzel stepped back as the doors were opened by another two guards inside the dining hall. He took her arm in his just as the doors opened.

"Princess Rapunzel!" they heard her name called deafeningly by a herald, silencing the hubbub out in the hall. All heads turned excitedly toward the hall entrance, where Rapunzel's face reddened and she tightened her grip on Eugene's arm.

Her eyes found where her parents stood among a group of nobles, their faces brightening as they saw their daughter.

Eugene squeezed her arm, and she snapped back to the task at hand. They strode down the literally man-made aisle to join Rapunzel's parents. As they walked, women curtseyed, men bowed. People whispered their compliments to the princess, while others murmured amongst themselves as they recognized Eugene's ill-at-ease face as that of the infamous criminal, Flynn Ryder.

"That man…is that Flynn Ryder?"

"What is the _princess_ doing with that scoundrel?"

"Are Their Majesties _blind_?"

The king cleared his throat loudly as Rapunzel and Eugene approached. "This is a momentous day, my subjects." said he, once all attention was turned to him. "Let us sit down and I'll explain it over a feast."

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><p><em>I don't really like how the conversation between Eugene and Mr. Royalty went, nor do I particularly love how this chapter ended. Also, I'm too tired to go through this again and edit errors. I'll get to it in another week or so when I'm not busy. XP <em>

_Thank you for reading! I hope you review. (which means PLEASE REVIEW! I AM DESPERATE!) 3_

_~Jemmy_


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